Atrocious

- Chapter 16 -

Narrator POV - Time jump 🌶️

The sports festival reached its climax last week. This festival is one of the most popular events in the world. Back when specialties didn't exist, the Olympics were the number one event in the world.
The Sports Festival is an annual event where students from all grades showcase their different skills in various competitions.
This allows them, if successful, to be scouted by heroes, professional heroes and support agencies.

Some students have now had the opportunity to complete an internship with those who nominated them.
The students Midorya, Todoroki, Bakugou and Uraraka did particularly well and received correspondingly good references.
However, one thing should be kept in mind:
During his internship, Tenya Iida had a confrontation with the hero killer Stain - a man who had made it his mission to cleanse the world of false heroes.
Midorya and Todoroki became involved in this confrontation, in which, through various circumstances, Stain himself saved the children from an attack by another villain.
Endeavor, the father of Shoto Todoroki, and number 2 in the superhero rankings, was able to protect the children and eventually arrested the hero killer.
Why the students had fought Stain together was unclear for a while. They should have been some distance away from each other.

What happened in the background that they were found together?
'Did they have something planned?
It seemed that something was being concealed and this annoyed Anna for a while.
In the meantime, she had to realize that she didn't care.
The main thing was that the students were doing well.

There was something special coming up tomorrow and the students were excited.
They were going to the mountains, because now they had to train better and more to be prepared should the rogue league attack again.
To prevent them from finding the students, the location in the mountains was kept secret.
Only the teachers were involved.
Anna was also sent along to support the other teachers: Bloodking and Eraserhead.

'This can only be good.'

While she was lost in thought, she packed the last of her clothes into her gym bag and made herself a quick soup from miso, curry paste, soup vegetables and prawns, which she had bought fresh from the market nearby.
She had always liked cooking, even if she wasn't particularly good at it.
She quickly opened her windows so that the smell of the cooked prawns didn't permeate her clothes, pillows and blankets and turned her attention back to her stove.
Sekijiro and Shota were going on a school trip with her.
She bit her lower lip and thought about her current situation.
Three men were stirring up feelings in her that were driving her crazy and she didn't realize which of them were perhaps just physical and which went deeper.
She didn't know how to find out, except maybe try now on the class trip.
"I like that bite," came quietly from the side and Anna startled. She lost the wooden spoon, which the uninvited guest dutifully caught in the air.
"Hawks!"
"Did you miss me?" he asked with a grin, licking the remains of the soup off the spoon.
He looked her in the eye, presumably because he was waiting for an answer, but Anna couldn't help herself and stood rooted to the spot, legs pressed together.
"At last you've got something to eat - and I think it's delicious..." He tried to spoon out a portion of soup with the wooden spoon, but Anna slapped his fingers, lost in thought.
"Ow!" he said stubbornly and his wings twitched. They trembled and opened slightly.
He had regained his full wing splendor and it looked like no other.
"What are you doing here?" she asked, a little too loudly, and put her hand over her mouth.
"Visiting you."
"Why?"
"Why?" he repeated, handing her the wooden spoon. His look changed from friendly and open-minded to serious and Anna had the feeling that something was working inside him.
"Well, I had to see if you finally had something to eat or if you were starving in bed"
'I'm fine,' she said, stirring the soup.
'She should put up fly screens as soon as possible,' she thought and watched as he approached her to look into the pot.
He smelled fruity and like fresh grass again and she felt his breath on her neck and the warmth on her back.
"I've got enough for two - clear the table. We can eat if you like".
He didn't need to be told twice, took off his thick, skimpy jacket and boots and cleaned the table.
Anna filled two bowls with soup and noodles and handed him one.
Anna sat down and Hawks sat down opposite her.
"Next time I stay at your place, will you finally have such great food?"
"No, because you won't be staying here again," she said, pressing her lips together.
Crestfallen, he drooped his wings and slurped the soup.
Anna felt bad.
She didn't want to be angry. He'd been nice, honest and open since second one. He'd brought her home safely and done everything he could to make her trust him.
That she knew he wouldn't do anything wrong.
He was good-looking, intelligent and charming. She felt comfortable with him.
It all just pissed her off.
Three men and she didn't know what to do.
"Hawks, thank you..."
"For what?" he mumbled.
"For looking after me. For walking me to my apartment and for staying the night." He set the bowl down carefully and cleaned his mouth. His eyes wandered from his plate to her worried face.
He bent his leg and leaned on it. He visibly struggled for the right words.
"I wanted to help...no problem," he whispered.
She swallowed. Everything inside her tightened and she couldn't breathe. She had to know what these feelings were and she couldn't help but try. What could she lose?
Either he leaves or he stays.

"I couldn't get you out of my head," she said.
"Neither have you."
Anna screamed inwardly, but tried to remain calm.
"I always wondered if you'd come to me through the window again."
"I was hoping you'd leave a window open for me."
"Always since then."
"I know...I saw it," he stood up, walked around the small table and sat down on the floor next to her, "I didn't know where it would go. That's why I was worried."
She felt his warmth at her side again and the feathers of his wing gently brushed her back.
"Because of us?"
"Yes."
"I don't know either," she stammered and looked down. Her whole body trembled and she put everything into her last sentence.
"But I want to try."

It felt like an eternity in which they were both silent.
Anna hastily closed her eyes. She was ashamed of her statement, but she had to know whether he was just joking - the looks, the conversations, the care for her, the thoughts he had about her.
Or was he perhaps really serious?
Another small eternity passed between them and she felt him nudge her with his shoulder.
She ignored it and kept her eyes closed.
How could she get out of this situation was her thought.
He nudged her again. This time a little harder and longer.
Again she tried to ignore it.
Hawks turned to her and put her face in his hand.
Surprised, she looked up and gazed into his wide, alert eyes.
"Me too," he breathed and stroked her lower lip with his thumb.
He approached cautiously and flinched for a moment, waiting for her reaction.
But she liked it.
And he gently placed his lips on hers.